The Sun: Rulership, Exaltation, Detriment and Fall

The Sun is the brightest object in the sky, the life-giving star of our Solar System, and also the most important celestial body in astrology. Also called Sol, the Sun is impersonated by the ancient Greek goddess Helios. Life on earth is literally empowered by the Sun’s energy, with it having an effect on all the biorhythms of live organisms. Astrologically, its influences are so important that most people only know the sign where their Sun is placed in, referring to it just as “their sign”.

The Sun is ruling our vitality and self-perception, making any house it is placed in the epicenter of our life. It has a strong masculine energy, and in the natal chart depicts our father. In addition, it can also show relations with the male gender or generally people who become a father figure for us. The Sun is also strongly connected with activity and self-confidence and rules our personality and ego.

The bright star rules the sign of Leo. An interesting fact is that Leo is strongly connected with royalty, both because of the Sun’s rulership and the presence of the royal star Regulus (Cor Leonis) for the last 2000 years roughly. Before a decade, the star moved to Virgo, where it will stay for the next 2000 years. The Sun’s eclipses are also very important for the processes of birth and death, while also signify great changes in our life- while also in mundane astrology. It takes 365 days for the Sun to travel around the zodiac.

Yes, a full cycle around the zodiac is exactly what we call a year and how we keep track of time. And even the Earth’s nature is so closely connected to this cycle, that all plants and animals are following the Sun’s periodic movement somehow. We, the humankind, might not hibernate like the bears do when it is called. But we also consciously structure our yearly reality in such a way that the mass does similar things during every time of the year, depending on the weather that the Sun brings to us. The Sun is exalted in the sign of Aries, in fall and weak in Libra, while operates rather toughly in Aquarius where it is in detriment. The Sun never retrogrades.

The passage of the Sun through any house lasts roughly a month, and its effects are temporary. It gives some extra boost to the house’s matters, making us concentrate towards the series of events that are triggered. As the Sun’s cycle is every year the same for us, it is responsible for personal patterns that become our yearly routines. By examining your natal chart you may notice conscious or unconscious repeats of similar things you do every year in the same period. Of course, each year their outcomes will vary, as the Sun is might be a stable parameter but not the only one in our celestial equation. Thus, even if the Sun conjuncts a natal planet a certain day every year in our chart, the events will vary due to the difference of placements of all the other celestial bodies the current day.

The Sun rules gold, the heart, and our ambitions. It has a strong influence on authority and power and makes us strive to become the center of attention as it is the center of the Solar System. The Sun needs to rule and to shine towards those he rules. It desires respect and fame, making it also governor of the theater and anything that happens on stage. Yet, the Sun as every celestial body can also give some negative traits to every individual. It is linked with arrogance and overconfidence, pride, egoism, and narcissism.

A strong Sun by placement can make even men expel a lot of masculine energy, being a lot more active than the general stereotype of the man. It can indicate a powerful father who becomes a role model for the individual. The Sun also plays a strong role in the relations between people. It rules the strong partner of the relationship, the one who grants the stability and shines towards the other partner. The Sun is the inner power that will make you progress and fight in your life, the force that will feed your existence and ego. Of course, it can also be responsible for overindulging in certain areas of our lives, raising them unnecessarily higher as priorities than all the others. Difficult aspects to the Sun may indicate a selfish character, uncontrolled pride, and zeal for power and fame.

Due to the Sun’s connection with the 5th house, it governs our love life and happiness, the 1st child we give birth to and the way we party and celebrate. In addition, it also rules sports and many other recreational activities, even gambling. As a planetary force, the Sun requires from us to develop the powers of our psyche and to make our steps towards becoming what we are intended to be. Whoever is more receptive to the Sun’s energy will eventually have larger benefits from it, and a great technique to empower its traits is sun-gazing and generally passing time under his direct rays. Those who tune in with its frequencies will develop a strong will and a large desire to conquer their world.

Every individual should research his natal Sun placement in order to understand better its functions. We should be extra careful not to misuse its gifts. Any problems connected to it include lack of control over our greed for power, which can blur our conscious thoughts and lead us to obsessive behaviors. The house where the Sun is natally located should be examined better so that we see how to develop our abilities in a healthy way and which life areas can be empowered.

Find in which house your Sun is located in your natal chart, and read the respective article to uncover more about its functions:

Each planets have a different effect on you, depending on which house and sign they reside in. In order to find out where they are located in your natal chart, you can use our free birth chart generator.
Also, examine the aspects that they form with other planets in your chart. You will understand a lot more about the detailed role that they have in your horoscope.

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The Astro Team

The Astro Codex was created by Xaos and Ordo with the ambition to provide some detailed information regarding placements and aspects in Astrology, that potentially interested people could use to interpret their own natal chart.